Mumbai, March 15: Mumbai Traffic Police launched a special campaign against those violating traffic rules on the occasion of Holi and Holika Dahan. 17,495 challans were issued in this campaign which ran for two days on March 13 and 14. The total recovery was Rs 1 crore 79 lakh 79 thousand 250. To ensure road safety during the festival, the police blocked major places in the city and took strict action against those breaking the rules.

Mumbai Police had issued guidelines for the people before Holi. It was warned that action would be taken under the Maharashtra Police Act if the rules were not followed.

In this campaign, special attention was kept on those areas where there was a possibility of traffic rules being broken. Special attention was given to violations like drunk driving, speeding, riding a bike without a helmet, carrying three passengers and breaking signals.

In two days, the traffic police caught many cases of violations. 4,949 cases of riding a bike without a helmet were reported, while action was taken against 183 people for drunk driving. 33 challans were registered for driving in the wrong direction, 992 challans for breaking the rules on one-way roads and 1,942 cases of breaking signals.

Apart from this, 425 cases of carrying three passengers and 826 people were fined for driving without a license.

Mumbai Traffic Police says that this campaign was run to maintain the safety of the people and road discipline. During the festival, ignoring the rules amid the crowd and excitement increases the risk of accidents, so strictness was necessary. The police appealed to the people to follow the rules in future, so that the roads remain safe and the festival can be enjoyed without any hassle.

Mumbai: After the gross mishandling of the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case of Beed, the Devendra Fadnavis government has come in for flak again for it failure to arrest all the accused involved in the harassment of the minor daughter of Union minister for sports and youth affairs and BJP leader Raksha Khadse.

On February 28, Khadse’s daughter had gone to the annual Sant Muktai jatra or fair at Muktainagar in Jalgaon district along with her friends. Raksha Khadse was in Gujarat on that day on official work. The girls were stalked, eve teased and their videos taken by a gang of seven men. Even the presence of a policeman deputed by the minister did not deter the men. In fact, the gang manhandled the policeman.

The following day when her daughter complained to her about the shocking incident, Khadse personally went to Muktainagar police station and lodged a complaint. After that four men, including one Aniket Ghui, were arrested. Apparently the gang has been stalking and harrassing girls going to their schools and complaints to the police were not acted upon. Some of the accused allegedly have criminal antecedents.

What is shocking is that even after two weeks of the incident, three of the accused are still absconding. Incidentally, Krishna Andhale, the prime accused in the Santosh Deshmukh murder is still absconding. “If the daughters of Union Ministers are not safe, what can be said about the safety of ordinary women in Maharashtra? This question was raised by Rohini Khadse, a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) and sister-in-law of Raksha Khadse. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar had earlier slammed the Fadnavis government for its failure to ensure the safety of women. Rohini Khadse alleged that the accused had political backing. This view was shared by Raksha Khadse as well.

“The police no longer have control over criminals, which is why the latter have no fear of law. The government seems indifferent and inactive when it comes to women’s safety, and I feel that it is completely neglecting this issue. Therefore, it is crucial to implement strict laws for the protection of women. Instead of just making big promises, the government must focus on ensuring the safety of its ‘ladki’ sisters,” Rohini Khadse observed.

Since the local police were not responding to her complaint, Raksha Khadse called on Fadnavis, who handles the home portfolio, and drew his attention to the shocking incident. “There is heavy interference by politicians in matters of postings and transfers of police officials because of which these officers are loyal to their political godfathers and not to their uniform,” a former police officer observed. “Huge monies change hands during the postings and transfers,” he added.

United Nations, March 15: UN humanitarians said that 63,000 metric tonnes of food await an end to the Gaza aid blockade, enough for 1.1 million people for two to three months.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the 12-day aid blockage hinders relief operations, Xinhua news agency reported.

“This means, for example, that the World Food Programme (WFP) has not been able to transport any food supplies into Gaza due to the closure of all border crossing points for both humanitarian and commercial supplies,” OCHA said. “WFP has about 63,000 metric tonnes of food destined for Gaza, stored or in transit in the region.”

WFP said it has enough stocks to support active bakeries and community kitchens for up to one month and can also provide ready-to-eat food parcels for more than 500,000 people for two weeks. However, before the ceasefire, WFP reduced the quantity of ready-to-eat food parcels so that families could stretch their supplies and serve more people.

It isn’t just a shortage of food. A lack of fuel affects vehicle movements across Gaza and slows first responders.

OCHA said oxygen supplies and electricity generators are also critically needed to maintain life-saving operations at hospitals in Gaza. At least two dozen additional generators are in short supply for health centres, as the ones in use need maintenance and spare parts.

In the West Bank, the humanitarian office warned that settler violence is escalating in certain areas across the region, causing casualties, property damage and placing communities at high risk of displacement.

Over the past two years, OCHA has documented the displacement of more than 2,000 Palestinians across the West Bank due to heightened settler violence and access restrictions.

In the northern West Bank, the Israeli military operation entered its eighth week.

The office said people continue to be displaced, and last week Israeli forces raided at least 10 mosques across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

“Since Monday, operations in Jenin city have intensified, with more than 500 people displaced from three neighbourhoods in the eastern part of the city, according to the municipality,” OCHA said. “The UN and its partners warn that food insecurity is rising, as operations by Israeli forces, displacement, and movement restrictions limit access to food.”

Also, OCHA said there was a sharp increase in the demolition of Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank over the past week and a half. The number of structures demolished during the first 10 days of Ramadan this year exceeds the total for all of Ramadan in 2024.